The concept of inserting large hay bales into plastic bags is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,176. Large bales weighing many hundreds of pounds, e.g., 2,000 lbs., are laid end to end and the bagging machine carrying a folded plastic bag is driven over the bales and in the process, the bales are deposited in the bag. An improvement to the above machine is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,220,722. It is desirable that the bag fit snugly to the bales. This latter invention provides an elastic bag which is stretched open by expandable fingers. The bales are directed through the bag opening (held open by the fingers) and in the process of being redeposited on the ground, the bag is pulled off the fingers to contract around the bales.
Whereas the concept as generally described is presently being marketed, it has been found that the bag filling process is not without some problems. The fingers which are cylindrical bars are provided at about six positions around a circle. With the bag stretched around the fingers, the bag opening assumes the shape of a polygon. A bale that is circular in cross section has a curved peripheral surface and unless enough tolerance is provided, the bale can occasionally snag and tear the bag.
Also, whereas the bales as contemplated for bagging by prior bagging machines are considered to be round in shape (having, e.g, a 4 foot to 6 foot diameter), the expandable fingers of the prior machines are arranged on the periphery of a circle which is considered optimal for receiving the round bales. (Here it will be explained that the fingers move in and out to fit different sizes of bales but regardless of the desired size established, the fingers are essentially located on the periphery of a circle.) The problem is that the bales are not necessarily and most likely are not truly round. The longer a circular bale lies on the ground, the more misshapen it becomes simply due to the weight of the bale. The bale settles and spreads and it becomes shorter and wider with a flat bottom and a flattened but curved top. It is an irregular shape and the more severe cases can be a problem for bag filling machines. Bales that are square or rectangular in cross section generally do not become misshapen by sitting on the ground. The prior machines, however, are not particularly suited to bagging square or rectangular bales. In many cases the bag must be stretched unduly to permit entry of the square or rectangular bale into the polygon shape of the stretched bag.